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Pirates' Francisco Cervelli: Shut down for season

by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

Cervelli (quad) has been shut down for the remainder of the season, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Cervelli has dealt with a myriad of injuries this season, and it seems his latest ailment -- a left quad issue -- will end his season prematurely. "The reality is we've run out of time," manager Clint Hurdle said. Seeing as the Pirates are out of playoff contention, it doesn't make much sense to push Cervelli to return for what would be meaningless games. He'll finish the season with a .249/.342/.370 line with five homers in 81 games. Elias Diaz and Chris Stewart are expected to split duties behind the dish for the rest of the year.

Cervelli (quad) took live batting practice and ran the bases in cleats Wednesday and could still return this season, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

He will try squatting drills Friday but is still without a firm timetable for return. While he could get back in 2017, we're running out of time in the season for him to make an impact, especially since his main contributions (batting average, compiling runs and RBI) are better suited to long stretches.

Cervelli (quadriceps) has hit a "plateau" in his squatting activities according to head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

At this point in time, it seems relatively unknown when Cervelli will make his way back onto the field. It was expected that the catcher would be able to come back after a 10-day stay on the DL, but he hasn't been able to progress as quickly as the club would've liked, and may continue to rehab over the weekend instead of rejoining the team. Although there hasn't been a clear timetable on Cervelli's recovery, if he's able to ramp up his efforts over the next couple days, he could be back for the series in Milwaukee next week.

Cervelli continues to work his way back from a quad injury that landed him on the shelf over the weekend, and the Pirates remain hopeful that he'll be ready to rejoin the big club after a minimal 10-day stay. While he's been able to resume playing catch, jogging, and hitting in the cage recently, the Pirates may choose to err on the side of caution with Cervelli seeing as he's already been on the DL four separate times this season.

Cervelli (quadriceps) said Sunday that he expects to return from the disabled list in the minimum 10 days, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was less willing to offer a timetable for Cervelli's return, but the backstop said his left quad issue was "like a cramp," suggesting that it isn't anything that will keep him sidelined for long. Since Cervelli has already landed on the disabled list four separate times this season, the Pirates may choose to be extra cautious with the backstop. Even if he's activated when first eligible Sept. 5, Cervelli may not be asked to catch on a full-time basis initially.